"What do you think?" Millie twisted around to look over the back of the wedding dress in the full-length mirror.
The twins shook their heads, "Looks great at the front, you can hardly see the bump, but the back is a mess, far too many frills. I'll go and have a look, see what I can find. Pearl and Ruby wandered off."What do you think, Mum?Rene shook her head, "No the girls are right, it's too much,""It looks as if you have a crumpled bed sheet attached to your bum," Lucy said."Lucy!" said Claire, try not to upset the bride.""We are not having our gorgeous step-mum, looking like a complete clown, she can hardly see her feet, nevermind her bum. She needs us to tell the truth."Millie went back to the changing room and waited for the next dress, Pearl and Ruby came barging in."Try this Millie, I know its not the right colour, but the style is perfect."Millie wasn't going to argue, right now she was so fed up with trying frocks on, she wChristmas Eve"You disgusting little horror, I've never known anyone smell like you, Not even your handsome big brother." Nick held Aria Henderson-Swan at arm's length and took the stairs two at a time. "You gorgeous beautiful stinkpot, what are we going to do with you?""Shh, I've just got Arlo to sleep," Gabriel whispered, he sat in one of the two rocking chairs with his tiny son over his shoulder gently patting his back. "You'd better be quick, one of her legs has turned a strange mustard colour."Bloody hell what has your mother been feeding you?"Same as she has been feeding this one, Google says breastfed babies have mustard pooh.""Great." Nick sighed, "Oh my
Amelia Ashton, (Millie): The heroine of our story. A beautiful shy girl with an hourglass figure, and who has the self-esteem of a slug - for now.Pearl Ashton: Older half-sister of Amelia, twin sister of Ruby. Model and would-be actress who thinks the sun shines out of her darkest recess but thinks her sun shines brighter than Ruby's.Ruby Ashton: Older half-sister of Amelia, twin sister of Pearl. Model and would-be actress who thinks the sun shines out of her darkest recess but thinks her sun shines brighter than Pearl's.Rene Ashton: Three times divorced mother of the twins and Amelia, who doesn't know the meaning of the word 'maternal'. Always out for what she can get.Nick Henderson: Multi-millionaire vocalist of chart-topp
"Liar!"The force of Ruby Ashton’s anger droveMillie back against the sitting room wall. The only protection it would offer was if it absorbed herand she wished that it would.Or better still, she wished for the floor to open up and swallow her miserable sister. Maybe if Ruby stamped her Louboutin clad foot even harder she would get her wish.“It wasn’t me,” she protested. “I wouldn’t iron that kind of material.”Millie ducked as the beaded silk-chiffon top flew like a wounded bird-of-paradise through the air towards her, and her elder sister stormed across the room after it.Millie moved fast. Savage should have been Ruby’s middle name and she didn’t trust her not to lash out at her and with those nails, it could damage her; it would be like trying to fight a rabid she-Ruby snatched the top up, only just missing Millie’s chee
Amelia Ashton was havingone of those days.She was dragging her wheeled suitcase up the pea gravelled drive of her new employer, which was rather more difficult than she ever imagined.Then she had to fight with her umbrella in the gale force wind and then the teeming rain, which had poureddown as if God was pouring a bucket of water directly over her which had ruined her long glossy hairfrizzing it up and turning it into a rats nest within five seconds of getting out of the cab.The last straw had been the stupid pea gravel that got stuck in the wheels of her case and stopped dead almost dragging her arm out of the socket. Her hand slipped off the handle and she only just saved herself from face planting on the drive. That was all she needed, to be picking gravel from her chin in front of her new employer.Taking a deep calming breath, “Keep calm, you can do this,” she muttered under her breath. She ha
She had spent an interesting evening - although nerve-wracking in some places - with two of the most handsome and eligible men in the entire world. She sighed with happiness as she thought of Gabriel who, when he had sobered up, was the most delightful man she had ever met.“So Amelia, what do you like to do in your spare time?” Gabriel asked as he poured the rich deep red wine into her glass.“I like to cook, I love trying out new recipes, and please call me Millie, Amelia is just a Sunday name.”“Oh, we will definitely be your guinea pigs for that, Millie,” he said.He teased her gently, making her blush and giggle, and being around him did something to her insides low down and deep. Making her very warm and her tummy felt almost liquid as he had made her laugh with his silly jokes. He didn’t treat her like staff, he’d made sure she had everything she needed, and she felt
Waving her hands in front of her face, and blowing her breath upwards to dispel the burning heat, Millie went back to the kitchen, feeling relieved that she was alone in the house. She definitely needed time to recover from her late start and the news of that wretched forfeit jar.She blushed scarlet again as she remembered what Nick had said'specifically interact with others.'Bloody hell
He - Hello.""Amelia," Nick's voice was as smooth as melted chocolate, "we were wondering if you were alright? You didn't answer our texts," Nick said.Oh shit, they weren't from Pearl.She thought.
Nick unlocked the front door they had enjoyed lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon at the Groucho club where they knew that they wouldn't be disturbed. They had decided to give Millie a week to see how they got on with each other, though judging from the conversation yesterday evening they both knew in their hearts that it would take something drastic to let her go. They walked towards the kitchen stairs and then stopped."Listen," Gabriel whispered."We can't listen to her conversation." Nick tried to pull Gabriel away from the top of the stairs. Gabriel stayed put. "Shh, something's wrong."Nick stopped and listened."Pearl, please don't do this, I like this job, I won't stop you from getting photo shoots and catwalk jobs. Just leave me alone!" Millie's voice was getting louder."No I can't invite you, how can I just invite you here on my first day? No, I'm not keeping them all to myself, I'm not so deranged that I think they might actually
Christmas Eve"You disgusting little horror, I've never known anyone smell like you, Not even your handsome big brother." Nick held Aria Henderson-Swan at arm's length and took the stairs two at a time. "You gorgeous beautiful stinkpot, what are we going to do with you?""Shh, I've just got Arlo to sleep," Gabriel whispered, he sat in one of the two rocking chairs with his tiny son over his shoulder gently patting his back. "You'd better be quick, one of her legs has turned a strange mustard colour."Bloody hell what has your mother been feeding you?"Same as she has been feeding this one, Google says breastfed babies have mustard pooh.""Great." Nick sighed, "Oh my
"What do you think?" Millie twisted around to look over the back of the wedding dress in the full-length mirror. The twins shook their heads, "Looks great at the front, you can hardly see the bump, but the back is a mess, far too many frills. I'll go and have a look, see what I can find. Pearl and Ruby wandered off. "What do you think, Mum? Rene shook her head, "No the girls are right, it's too much,""It looks as if you have a crumpled bed sheet attached to your bum," Lucy said. "Lucy!" said Claire, try not to upset the bride.""We are not having our gorgeous step-mum, looking like a complete clown, she can hardly see her feet, nevermind her bum. She needs us to tell the truth."Millie went back to the changing room and waited for the next dress, Pearl and Ruby came barging in."Try this Millie, I know its not the right colour, but the style is perfect."Millie wasn't going to argue, right now she was so fed up with trying frocks on, she w
Millie lay on the bed, as the ultrasound technician covered her tummy with gloop. The room was in semi-darkness, and Nick and Gabriel stood at the bed's side, Nick holding her hand and Gabriel's hand lay on her thigh."Just let me do my measurements, and then I'll show you the baby," Said the sonographer wielding the ultrasound wand over Millie's lower tummy.It only took a few minutes to get her measurements."Well, this is interesting," she said, "Which one of you is the father?" the sonographer asked."We don't know yet," Millie said, "and we don't mind all our family will love the baby.""I apologise, I thought you were a surrogate for these two gentlemen."Millie laughed, "No, we're just a very unusual family, and there is plenty of love for our children.""Do any of you have twins in the family?" The men shook their heads, "I have twin sisters" Millie said."Well, you're having twins, let me
It was so wonderful to be home, and Millie revelled in Nick and Gabriel taking care of her. Nick could hardly bear to let her out of his sight. He followed her around like a lost puppy, especially on that first evening.Claire brought Katie home after work. Katie glanced into the sitting room and realised Millie was there, "Mama"! she yelled running into the room and throwing herself onto Millie's lap.Millie breathed a sigh of contentment, how could she have abandoned this sweet little girl because of her hurt feelings. How ridiculous she was.Katie held tight to Millie's neck, "I'm sorry for leaving you, Katie," she whispered in her ear, "I'll never leave you again."Millie put Katie to bed after dinner, and they all sat and talked about the things they had been doing."So How are you doing Millie?" asked Claire.Millie glanced up at Nick and Gabriel. They were smiling at her like Cheshire cats.&
Jess and Lucy stared wide-eyed at Amelia's message, they both let out a sigh, "Thank god for that, so, shall we call Smokey?""No, let's ask Gabe if he will take us, Millie will need someone to be with her. Someone who loves her."Lucy said, "Not like we love her.""Okay, what about Dad?"
"Tell me what Angus said again?" Nick could hardly believe what Gabriel had told him, that he was suffering morning sickness, it was unbelievable, he'd never heard of this before, he didn't have this when Jess's mum was pregnant."He doesn't think there is anything wrong with you, he said to look up Couvade Syndrome, you read it yourself, Nick." Gabriel was holding on to his patience,
Three Weeks Later.Millie lay in her bed. She had left the curtains open, and from her position, she could see the trees across the river. The birds were tweeting and doing aerobatics among the branches, and the sun was shining. For the first time in weeks, everything was peaceful. Millie sighed, a feeling of contentment rose within her, and all she needed now was... No! She could not think of them. The lump in her throat stopped her breath, and her eyes stung with unshed tears. Jumping out of bed, she marched to the bathroom, determined that she would carry on with her new life. She leaned over the bath and turned the shower on, no massive shower with a million jet streams here. She would be lucky if the hot water lasted until she had washed her hair. The agent had promised they would repair the thermostat as soon as, but she hadn't heard from him for two weeks. God another Monday morning on the phone to him, She had never had any trouble in London with repairs t
The cottage was idyllic, it was a fairytale cottage, with a drystone wall at the front and garden full of flowers. If the inside were as pretty as the garden, Millie would take it. The Derbyshire hills surrounding the picturesque village were beautiful to look at, and just across the road, the river Derwent rolled peacefully along.The peace that Millie felt was incredible, and no one would bother her here. All she could hear was singing of the birds. The cottage was on a back road in the village, the only people who would come down this road were the people who lived in the other four ho
Gabriel watched the girls cook tea. He enjoyed being with them. They were funny, and they both explained many things to him about his life."Gabe, would you like to go and tell Nick dinner's ready please?""Do you know where he'll be?" he said, standing and stretching."Up two flights of stairs, first door on the left. That's your bedroom. He's probably sulking."Gabriel sighed, "Does he often do this, sulk, I mean?"Lucy rolled her eyes, "What you have to remember Gabe, is that although my brother is the outwardly dominant member of this family, you are usually in charge. Nothing happens in this household without you saying so and giving it your approval."Gabriel's navy blue eyes opened wide, "Are you sure?"Both the girls nodded their heads. "He just talks and shouts a lot," Lucy said. "But you are the one we all go to, and especially Nick. If you didn't realise it, Nick has said something to Millie, not meaning to hurt